Massive Undertaking

I haven't posted here in a few months, but I have a massive undertaking that I'm getting started on. I was given a house, completely paid off, as a gift from my mom after my grandfather passed a few years ago. I just got the house about 18 months ago, so here is what needs to be done.

1) I have to repaint the entire interior of the house.
2) I have to re-tile the hallway, kitchen, and bathrooms
3) I want to replace the sinks and 1 tub.
4) I need to re-carpet 3 bedrooms.
5) I need to buy a new stove.
6) I need to install a new dishwasher or pay to have it installed.
7) I need to install a garbage disposal.

The upside is that I already own most of the tools to get the job done. Yesterday I bought enough supplies to APPLY the tile to the floors and enough tile to do the guest bathroom. I've also painted the guest bathroom as well.

I also went ahead and bought the Graco Power Painter Plus ($239). In addition to that I managed to grab a pedestal sink on clearance for $55, which is normally $225 at Lowe's.

My main problem is staying motivated and getting the job done. That's why I'm posting this. I plan to stay more active and motivated. Attached is the general idea of how I'd like our main bathroom to look. Its an older house and the bathroom in the picture looks to be about the size of our bathroom, so I guess we'll see how this turns out.

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Massive Undertaking

Congrats on the new, to you, home. Wanna us to help you stay motivated? Ask the Mods to move this to the Project Showcase section and we'll pester/prod/poke you to work harder, faster & longer over there.

Massive Undertaking

Massive Undertaking

Hi Newbie!

From my past experience; take on one project at a time. Too many projects going on at the same time will only exasperate the situation. Take on the bathroom first and don't be afraid to take on a friend familar with bathroom renovations.

Massive Undertaking

Keep breaking it down to doable pieces. You might look into the concept of SMART goal setting. Core to the reason it works is that you can focus on baby steps rather than getting overwhelmed by IT ALL.

I happen to like project management software to nudge me along on things. It also forces the issue of breaking giant goals down to manageable steps and keeps adjusting the critical path if you don't get things done.

Massive Undertaking

One room at a time is the best advice.
I always suggest starting on the outside first.
Failing roof, rotted siding, old windows, no insulation or not enough cost you money and will cause problums on the inside.
Spend all you money on fofo stuff will come back and kick you in the butt.

Massive Undertaking

Quote:

Originally Posted by joecaption

One room at a time is the best advice.
I always suggest starting on the outside first.
Failing roof, rotted siding, old windows, no insulation or not enough cost you money and will cause problums on the inside.
Spend all you money on fofo stuff will come back and kick you in the butt.

Absolutely fix infrastructure. The problem is we are a culture that doesn't perceive the value and we want immediate cosmetic gratification. Insulation and roof tiles of whatever kind lack any real drama and do not work well at cocktail parties. I was lucky to have great clients but some of the best just wanted me to give them something for $60-70,000 worth of infrastructure repairs nobody could see. None visiting noticed the insulation!

Massive Undertaking

You might want to think about one of these as either girlfriend, spouse or something. They are great motivators but they come with a huge emotional and financial price tag. If you find one seemingly nice on the surface? Ask to look at her teeth and gums. And make sure she is not hiding toe fungus. Women will like you being attentive. When the nicknames start you must run away fast. Relationships fail in direct inverse proportion to nicknames for each other.

Trust me, you never want one that cannot drive a standard transmission. You will spend too much time teaching her to chew gum. One that loves sushi would be a find in my opinion. You must never fall into the trap of commenting about hair or clothing. And just get over it. Whatever happened is your fault.

And get over the inspirational and motivational speeches, like "Could you please stop working on the homes of others long enough to fix our lava lamp and straighten the Velvet Elvis glow in the dark paintings?! I know you sent the plumber and electrician to do the water and electric flow for my cushy toilet seat but you know our lawn ornaments are not going stand upright without your help. I could put the 1500 pink flamingoes back in order but I just had my finger and toenails done?"

Last edited by user1007; 06-30-2012 at 12:44 AM.
Reason: Added Photo of "HER"

Massive Undertaking

Here's how I do it, my 12 step program:

Sit down and draw up a plan. This is useful for more than the obvious - it allows you do sit and doodle while looking really industrious. If you have some glasses nearby, put them on. You'll look smarter.

Once you have the plan, use it to generate material lists. This impresses everyone who has no idea what you're doing and makes it look like you really are organized.

Take your list to the store and buy your material. Bring it home and stage it so it looks like a real jobsite. You can wear a hardhat for added effect.

Have lunch.

After lunch, lay out the materials so you can get some idea how things will look and what other materials you may need. This also helps identify the tools you don't have and will need for the project. (You can take pictures at this point so you can show everyone what you did.)

Once you've identified the rest of what you need, go out and buy the materials. Bring them home and stage them too. Then go online and spend hours shopping out the best tool prices and buy the tools you need.

Have dinner.

Go back to your project and take another look at it. You may find you need to make some adjustments in your drawings.

Return to the drawing board and make sure you have everything just right.

Take your new drawing and compare it to the actual project at hand.

Imagine how it will all look when it's done. (You can pat yourself on the back at this point.)

Grab a beer and turn on the tube. You've worked hard today and you've earned it.

BTW, your new tools won't be arriving immediately but you need to keep the job going. So tomorrow, stake out the next project you plan to do and follow steps 1-12 above.